Saskatchewan traffic ticket blitz underway

Focus is intersections, and both drivers and pedestrians

Saskatchewan police will be writing up hundreds of tickets in the next two days as part of their latest traffic blitz.

This time, the focus is on intersections, where, according to Saskatchewan Government Insurance, 40 per cent of collisions happen.

The crackdown is welcome news to George Escott, who lives in downtown Regina and walks to work every day.

"When you're trying to cross the street and a driver's making a right hand turn, they're looking left to see if there's any traffic coming. They're not watching for who's trying to cross the road," he said. "I've had people bump into me with their cars."

Police will be looking for both drivers and pedestrians who are breaking the law.

'I've had people bump into me with their cars.'—Pedestrian George Escott

Tickets will be given out for things such as failing to yield to pedestrians or oncoming traffic, disobeying stops signs or traffic lights, and jaywalking.

During the last traffic blitz, in July, police focused on pedestrian safety and seatbelt use and handed out 304 tickets.

Not a cash grab, SGI says

Although blitzes of this kind sometimes bring complaints that they are cash grabs, SGI spokesperson Kelley Brinkworth says that's not so.

"We don't want any tickets to be handed out," Brinkworth insisted, "because that means you're not obeying the rules of the road and that means you're more likely to be involved in a collision."

In 2012, there were more than 11,000 collisions at intersections across the province, resulting in 33 deaths and nearly 4,000 injuries, according to SGI.

About 40 per cent of all collisions happen at intersections, Saskatchewan Government Insurance says. (Google Street View)